Fishhook remover

ABSTRACT

An improved fishhook remover producible on a mass production basis from relatively stiff wire stock so as to have a relatively stiff shank portion with a fishhook engaging hook formation on one end of the shank and a handle integrally formed on the opposite portion in the form of an elongated tightly coiled spring. The spring handle may be telescopically inserted within a grip member. The fishhook engaging hook portion may be either coplanar with the shank or in a plane approximately at right angles thereto.

United States Patent Luebbers et al.

[451 Dec. 19,1972

[54] FISHHOOK REMOVER [22] Filed: Feb. 16, 1971 [2]] App]. No.: 115,227

[52] U.S. Cl. ..43/53.5, 81/177 F, 294/26 [51] Int. Cl. ..A0lk 97/00[58] Field of Search .....43/53.5, 23, 137, 19; 294/26; 81/177 F [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 479,032 7/1892 Surbaugh..'....8l/177 F UX 2,362,137 11/1944 Kagan 2,289,767

7/1942 Ford ..43/53.5

Schoen ..43/23 UX Van Allen ..294/26 Primary ExaminerSamuel KorenAssistant ExaminerDaniel .l. Leach Attorney-Greist, Lockwood, Greenawalt& Dewey [5 7 1 ABSTRACT An improved fishhook remover producible on amass production basis from relatively stiff wire stock so as to have arelatively stiff shank portion with a fishhook engaging hook formationon one end of the shank and a handle integrally formed on the oppositeportion in the form of an elongated tightly coiled spring. The springhandle may be telescopically inserted within a grip member. The fishhookengaging hook portion may be either coplanar with the shank or in aplane approximately at right angles thereto.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures L J L I" 7 .1 j w J FISHHOOK REMOVER Theobject of this invention, generally stated, is the provision of animproved fishhook remover which may be integrally formed on a massproduction basis from relatively stiff wire stock and which has anaction due to the presence of the spring handle which is peculiarlysuited to the increased effectiveness with which fishhooks can berapidly removed from fish. Certain other more specific objects of theinvention will be obvious and appear hereinafter.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of the presentinvention reference may now be had to the following detailed descriptionof preferred embodiments thereof taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a fishhookremover constituting one preferred embodi ment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the fishhook engagingend portion of another preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing a modification of thefishhook engaging hook portion of a modification of the embodiment ofthe invention shown in FIGS. 2 and 3; and,

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view which illustrates one of the importantaspects of the operation of a fishhook remover made in accordance withthe principles of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, a fishhook remover is indicated generally at5 in FIG. 1 with the tool itself being integrally formed from a singlepiece of wire stock so as to have a relatively straight shank 6, afishhook engaging hook formation 7 on one end, and a spring handle 8 onthe other end. The handle 8 comprises a multiplicity of turns of thewire with each turn engaging, or nearly engaging, the adjacent turns. Ifdesired, a conventional handle grip 10 may be telescopically applied tothe handle 8. The grip 10 is of a size such that it has a tight or pressfit on the handle 8 so that it cannot be easily removed and will notfall off. The inner end of the handle 8 preferably has a tapered springportion 9 which contributes to the desirable action of the tool andeffectively defines a spring joint between the handle 8 and the shank 6.

It will be appreciated that the exact dimensions and proportions ofparts are not critical. In fact the fishhook remover 5 may be indifferent sizes and weights for use with different sizes of fish.

The fishhook remover 5 may be economically formed on a mass productionbasis from wire stock by first automatically forming the coiled springhandle 8 on the free end of the wire as it is withdrawn from a supplyreel or spool. Production machines are commercially available fortightly coiling the wire into adjacent turns to form the handle 8. Afterthe handle 8 has been formed, the wire is cutoff at a sufficientdistance from the reduced or inner end of the handle 8 so as to providethe shank 6 and the hook portion 7. Preferably, the free end of the hook7 is pointed as indicated at 11 although this is not necessary and thefree end can be left blunt or rounded if desired. However, by having thepoint 11 formed thereon, the tool may occasionally be put to other usessuch as a gaff hook. The hook 7 is readily formed on the severed end ofthe wire, either manually or automatically by means of a jig fixturemade for this particular purpose.

Instead of having the hook 7 coplanar with the shank 6 as shown in FIG.I, it may be bent so as to lie in a plane at approximately right anglesto the shank 6. This modification is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 wherein theshank is indicated at 6' and the hook portion at 7. If desired, the hookformation 7 may be relatively open as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 or it maybe more nearly closed as illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein the shank portionis indicated at 6" and the hook portion at 7".

The spring handle 8 performs an essential function in the use of thefishhook remover 5 in that it permits the user to impart and vary orregulate the pressure which the fishhook engaging hook portion of thetool applies first to the line or leader suspending a fish on a hook andthen to the hook itself. The nature of this action imparted by thespring 8 will be better understood from the following description of themanner in which the fishhook remover 5 is used.

A fisherman suspends a fish, whether dead or alive by holding the linein one hand a few inches from the mouth of the fish (e.g. 10-1 5inches). The book formation 7 (7 or 7 of the tool 5 is then applied tothe line with the inside or bight portion of the hook engaging the linein such a way that a slight amount of pressure is applied to the line bythe hook portion through the action of the spring handle 8. This actionallows the hook formation 7 to be accurately and rapidly guided down theremainder of the line or leader until the fishhook itself is engaged. Itwill be understood that depending how the fish has been caught the hookmay be engaging only a small part of the mouth of the fish or the fishmay have actually swallowed the hook.

With slight pressure being continuously applied by the action of thehandle portion 8 the hook formation 7 of the fishhook remover 5 isguided down the shank of the fishhook until it engages the base of thefishhook. At this point the fishhook remover 5 and the fish line aremanipulated in such a way as to bring the barb of the fishhook againstor close to the bight portion of the hook formation 7. This importantinterrelationship is illustrated in FIG. 5. It is important to note fromFIG. 5 that with the hook formation 7 adjacent the point of the barb ofthe fishhook only the flesh of the fish trapped in the small spaceindicated at 12 offers any resistance to the easy withdrawal or removalof the hook. This resistance is readily overcome as the hook portion 7is spring-pressed against the fishhook by imparting a short whip-likesnap of the hands under the action of the spring handle 8. The smallcross section of flesh in the space 12 is easily severed as thismanipulation takes place and the fish drops off leaving the removedfishhook under its controlled engagement with the remover. It will benoted that the barb is continuously prevented from burying into anyadditional flesh since its point is maintained in proximity to or inengagement with the tool hook formation 7. Also the cross-sectional areaof the space 12 may be minimized by rotating the fishhook to bring thebarb closer to the hook 7 of the tool.

After just a few tries the user gets the feel of the proper springaction and becomes quite expert in using the fishhook remover 5 toreadily remove a fish without either hand touching the fish itself.

Without the presence of the spring handle 8 it is quite difficult tobring about the removal of a fishhook from a caught fish because theappropriate or necessary action cannot be readily obtained.

Some users prefer to have the fishhook-engaging hook formation 7 of thetool turned at right angles to the shank as shown in FIGS. 2-4 insteadof having it coplanar with the shank as in the tool of FIG. 1.

Furthermore, some users prefer to have the hook formations more closedthan they are in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-3. A more closedrelationship is shown in FIG. 4. However, in all the forms the same action is obtained from the spring handle 8.

It will be appreciated that the fishhook removers of the presentinvention may be formed of wire or plastic rod stock having desiredphysical properties. A preferred material is spring tempered drawngalvanized or stainless steel wire having a diameter between 0.035 to0.25 inch with 0.135 inch preferred.

What is claimed as new is:

l. A fishhook remover integrally formed from a single piece of wirestock comprising a handle in the form of a multiplicity of turns of saidwire stock, a rigid and straight shank portion coextensive with thehandle, a spring between the handle and shank portion definingtherebetween a spring joint, and a fishhook engaging hook formation. onthe free end of the shank portion and extending substantiallyperpendicular thereto, whereby a spring action between the handle andthe shank and hook formation is defined by grasping and manipulating thehandle.

2. The fishhook remover of claim 1, and a handle grip telescopicallyreceived over said handle.

3. The fishhook of claim 2, wherein the spring is tapered toward theshank portion.

4. The fishhook of claim 3, wherein the wire stock is spring temperedsteel wire having a diameter of 0.035 to 0.25 inches.

t t I II

1. A fishhook remover integrally formed from a single piece of wirestock comprising a handle in the form of a multiplicity of turns of saidwire stock, a rigid and straight shank portion coextensive with thehandle, a spring between the handle and shank portion definingtherebetween a spring joint, and a fishhook engaging hook formation onthe free end of the shank portion and extending substantiallyperpendicular thereto, whereby a spring action between the handle andthe shank and hook formation is defined by grasping and manipulating thehandle.
 2. The fishhook remover of claim 1, and a handle griptelescopically received over said handle.
 3. The fishhook of claim 2,wherein the spring is tapered toward the shank portion.
 4. The fishhookof claim 3, wherein the wire stock is spring tempered steel wire havinga diameter of 0.035 to 0.25 inches.